I have both Bravely Default and the LaytonxNaruhodo game.
And my own thoughts?

You wouldn't normally praise a game that sticks to Final Fantasy-type gameplay without some kind of twist that changes the game entirely and makes it... well... fun. The Bravery and Default system is neat, but it doesn't necessarily change anything too drastic.
DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU.
I have been engrossed so much in the aesthetics of this game that I'm convinced it's one of the few games out there that can still go down the pure Japanese root of "same game, just prettier" and come out to be an amazing game simply because they've used new tactics to engross the player in the world of the game. It's not necessarily good graphics, either. It's the flow of the painted world, along with the story (which is generic as all heck, yet hardly forgettable by any means) that seems to have me stuck.

I've been too busy playing BD:FF and I haven't finished Kiseki no Kamen (Layton game #5 for 3DS) yet, though, so even though I have it, I haven't started playing the Layton x Naruhodo game past the opening two parts. Yet I already love it. For some reason, I thought it was going to combine both its gameplay into one thing so that the puzzles had some Gyakuten gameplay and the courts had some puzzles in them. I thought that would be a daring, but fun thing to do. Or outside investigations would combine both Layton and Gyakuten gameplay as well. Unfortunately, it separates them quite cleanly... but I've yet to complain about it, too. It feels blended enough elsewhere that it's not a big deal to me after all. =P
Oh, and unlike previous Layton/Gyakuten games, it doesn't seem to hint to chronological order that much, either. So I might just start playing it without worrying about finishing Kiseki no Kamen.

Bravely Default: I just don't understand why they wouldn't release this one here. If it's got all the trimmings of a classic type of RPG that everyone adored playing back in the day, then release it to get a major profit haul. People crave games like this.

Ni no Kuni: I've watched the demo and I have to say I'm liking what I see so far. I think this game is going on my add list.

Dungeons & Golf: That just looks and sounds desperately pathetic, like the industry's run out of ideas altogether.

Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Wars: The only name I recognize there is Browning, only because his son is a character who has come to the states via Endless Frontier.

Unchained Blades EXIIV: Still need to play the first one. I dig the idea of calling on so many different artists to work on the character designs too just like the first one.

Crimson Shroud: I've always found tabletop RPGs to be a such a snore (yes I know all RPGs started with pen and paper gameplay), but I could give this one a chance.

Are you serious? I'm dying here. I can't even believe I was seeing what I was seeing. At first I thought it was KOS-MOS from Xenosaga. I was like "WTF???" Well, if you're a fan of golf this might be the game for you. But this probably would have worked better if the line up were characters that many know. But hey, I don't watch golf, I don't understand what the hubbub is about it yet, if I told them that I found it boring they'd tell me that I was an uncultured upstart that can't understand the sheer awesomeness behind it.

Ni no Kuni: finally, I've waited long for this. Lets hope no one gets the short end of the stick on the localization in such a great project. I'm also keeping an eye on what kind of actual improvements Hokuto Musou 2 will bring. I hope they keep the combo system the same and keep everyone feeling different. Platforming and the uselss finisher combinations should be scrapped.

And yeah, the golf thing put a smile on my face. Looks like someone from Valkyrie Profile swinging her iron. In some level, I find it very fascinating.

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